Short Sharp Shocks
by Luddite Robot
Summary: A Collection of Drabbles written for Sunday100 and OpenonSunday challenges


These are drabbles written for various challenges from the "Sunday 100" and "Open on Sunday" Livejournal communities. Drabbles are works of prose that have 100 words, no more and no less, and these are based on a challenge, which states the work has to be about a word or subject. I tend to play with the bounds of the challenges.

* * *

** Russian Roulette (Spike/Dru) **

_ Games _

It was a small gun, a .32 he had taken from a criminal he had eaten. He thought he'd try a fun game, and now he doesn't move.

She had pulled in two men a night, pouring them down his throat, for the last three nights. This was the first time she saw signs of movement. She knew he wasn't dead, because if he was, he'd be gone.

She had thrown the gun into the bay that night. Awful shiny thing nearly took her brave knight away.

"I don't think I like that game."

"Wasn't fond of it myself, luv."

* * *

** Suicide King (Andrew. PG - Gambling) **

_ Games _

He thought in terms of points. Xander had spotted him fifty points when they got here, and he sat down at the table. He played the first couple of hands loose, trying to start a count. Soon he was a hundred points ahead, then a thousand, and then ten thousand. What's the top score of this game, anyway?

He felt someone behind him. Someone large.

"Mr. Wells." He never gave them his name. "We don't like the kind of game you play. Please leave our casino."

Thrown out of a casino by a real pit boss. This is so cool.

* * *

** Solitaire (Xander) **

_ Games _

The deck was dealt out. At the top of the first row was Buffy, the Queen of Spades, on top of the King of Hearts. The suicide king. As dealt, there was no other place for them than together.

He moved and stacked the cards and found himself stuck. He couldn't win this one. The Queen of Diamonds was stuck at the bottom. The bottom of the deck. The other red Queen was taken. And there, stuck on that pile, was the Jack of Spades. The one-eyed jack. Stuck alone.

He decided he needed air and put the cards away.

* * *

** In The Mirror - Buffy, no spoilers **

_ Silver _

It didn't mean much. Really. It's just another milestone.

When you think about it, with all she's gone through, she should have more, maybe. She is kind of young. On the other hand, it is proof that she's done it. She's beaten the Slayer game. She was a winner.

On the other hand, it was a reminder of all the things she had seen, had done, and had done to her. All she had lost. All she had never dared.

Curse that other hand.

Buffy separated the one silver hair from the others and pulled it out at the root.

* * *

** Take the Guitar Player For A Ride (Spike, pre-series) **

_ Music _

Peter rides shotgun chattering nonstop over a tape playing "30 Seconds Over Tokyo".

The driver was in town for two nights, picking up the kind of thing that always seems to show up around a hellmouth. He had to be back in NYC soon. Had appointments to keep.

"... so the doctor says I gotta stop drinking and speedin'." He takes a pull off the joint and drops it in the DeSoto's ashtray. "Looks like I'm down to Valium and grass. Gotta have somethin'."

"Bollocks," says the driver. He smiles. His eyes flash yellow. "There are fates worse than death."

* * *

** Hit Somebody (Xander, spoilers for "End of Days") **

_ Music _

Xander bantered halfheartedly with Dawn, pretending to look for a crossbow. He was really clocking time.

_We've always got room on the team for a goon._ That's why Spike stays and Xander goes. Xander's the nice guy, so he comes in last. Mr. Bad Example here gets to stand by her side in the big fight. Fat lot of good that did against Glory. _He_ was more use than Spike.

Not that it helped much.

_Brains over brawn, that might work for you..._

The chloroform rag went right over her nose and mouth. He held Dawn as she went limp.

* * *

** Innocent When You Dream (Willow, post-"Wrecked". Maybe post-"Gone") **

_ Music _

It's a trick you play on yourself. If you can't hold anything down, you drink water. Your stomach feels full, so it doesn't rumble and growl. So Willow carried a water bottle with her all the time.

She couldn't sleep more than a few hours. Tara had left some of her belongings -- incense, _Franks Wild Years_, some clothes from the hamper -- and sometimes she would light the incense, put on the CD, then ....

> _It's memories that I'm stealing ..._

Willow crawled out of bed and padded to the bathroom. You can only fool yourself for so long.

* * *

** 1-Meter Resolution (Riley) **

_ Photographs _

The shot came from NSA's highest-resolution spy satellite, when its orbit came close enough, which was eight hours after.

He mentally overlays a map. first the sector grid, then the landmarks.

The Magic Box, in the business district.

The cemeteries.

The UC Sunnydale, with the five Initiative tunnel entrances.

Revello Drive.

Sunnydale High, right at the epicenter. He knows.

He wants to roust his squad and take the first transport out. He wants to leave the dust of Kisangani behind him. He knows from the date stamp that he's late. Six months too late.

Riley knows he should've been there.

* * *

** "And Remember, You Can Remain Anonymous" (Faith, post-Chosen) **

_ Photographs _

She remembered that shot. After talking for what seemed like forever, she signed the confession and they took the shot. They took her boots, belt and leather jacket and what was left of the $7500 she took as up-front money from the lawyers, and shot "distinguishing feature" shots of the tattoo and belly scar. After a few hours, they took the tank top and the slacks, gave her an orange jumpsuit and sandals and sent her to the special wing to await trial. She felt peace there.

Now her mug shot's on "America's Most Wanted," and the peace is gone.

* * *

** Not Blamed For Nothing (Angel POV, R) **

_ Photographs _

Angel could scarcely bare to look at it now.

It started with a game. Take a working girl, carve her up where she can hear the Bobbies. Darla took joy in taking her turn, too.

Drusilla's puppy took to the game and added some nice turns. A note to the press here. A scrawl on a Whitechapel wall there. They collected the papers.

They ended game after Dru took her turn. She spent hours going over each and every detail. Who knows when the girl actually died.

The police photograph is in all the books now, and he couldn't look.

* * *

** Paperwork (Xander POV, "Villains") **

_ Three people are sitting on the steps _

The paramedics carried the gurney down the stairs. The one on the bottom steered, making sure that they didn't hit anything. The one on top controlled the speed, making sure that it goes down at a controlled speed.

Controlled speed. That's a laugh.

Nothing is under control right now.

Dawn is shell-shocked on the couch. Buffy is with her, trying to be there for her. Willow is ... who knows where Willow is right now. Or what she's doing.

The coroner gives Xander a clipboard. "If you could just sign this?"

Someone has to put their name down, be responsible.

* * *

** Potential Threat ("Dirty Girls") **

_ Three people are sitting on the steps _

Rona takes a mouthful from the water bottle, then passes it left. "So, what do you think?"

"I don't know what to think." Molly took her mouthful, dribbling some down her chin.

"She's been bitten. She hides it under her hair, but there's a big bite on the neck."

"A love bite?" Vi fiddles nervously with her hat.

"No, not a hickey. Shut up."

"Does that mean she's good, or just sloppy?"

"Hey, she's in sunlight. That's good, right?"

"I'm not sure that follows."

Rona climbs off the porch steps. "Given a choice between 'em, I'll follow Faith. Just sayin'."

* * *

** Why Guys Never Talk About Clothes (Xander & Spike, maybe S6 sometime) **

_ Open _

"So, what's the deal with vamps and black leather?"

"Deal?"

"Yeah. Your duster. Angel's pants. There's this whole big thing."

"You're seriously asking the big bad vampire why he wears black leather? What's up with you and the brown?"

"I dunno. It means something, I guess. Indiana Jones wore a brown leather jacket. SS Guy wore the black leather trenchcoat. It's a good/bad thing."

"I'm still the Big Bad, Harris. You best not forget that."

"Trust me, Spike. I'm not gonna forget that."

"Since we're talking clothes, what's with the flannel? You're a lumberjack and you're OK?"

"Shut up, Spike."

* * *

** Scorekeeping (Xander, S3, post-"Consequences") **

_ Success/Failure _

Xander desperately wants to talk it over with Willow, with _someone_, but it still hurts when he tries. He's desperate because he just doesn't get it.

Faith killed that guy and tried to blame it on Buffy. Then she tried to kill him. Then Angel talked to her and then the Watchers tried to ship her off to England, but she kicked their asses and bailed. So Buffy found her ready to take a slow boat to China but vampires attacked and Faith saved Buffy.

So she's back. Back on the good guy team.

So this is a win.

Right?

* * *

** Long Shadows (Xander/Anya, post S4, R, I think) **

_ Sunset _

It was the summer after that Initiative mess. Xander was working on an office park just north of town, and one afternoon, he got a couple of subs, a six-pack, and he took Anya up too the roof. He loved how the hardhat sat lopsided on her head, setting sun shining through her hair.

It was Anya's idea -- these things usually were -- but he had to admit he enjoyed it. She slid her sundress up and sat on AC unit, and he kissed her lips, her breasts. The street lights filled the long shadows as Anya moaned quietly.

* * *

** Unconventional Warfare (Riley) **

_ Unconventional _

Major Finn hated North Carolina, and it seemed to hate him. Jump School at Bragg. Mucking around in the swamp at LeJeune. The Delta Selection process, across the same mountain until he couldn't feel his legs.

He hated the Shooting Room at first. First time in, you're so worried about hitting cardboard hostages that you miss a cardboard hostile. The trainers laughed as they pointed out why everybody's dead.

He had his own Shooting Room now, and he'd run those trainers through it. He especially loved the looks on their faces when the HSTs stood back up after a double-tap.

* * *

** Sanctuary (Buffy, S6) **

_ Title Swap _

She never thought she'd think of her own house as dangerous. Her house was alway -- well, normally, at least -- where vampires could not follow. Where she was safe.

She passed underneath the statue of an angel as she patrolled Restfield, smelling like sweat, fry grease and polyester. There was a list of three graves she should watch on the fridge door, but right now, there were other bodies she wanted to take care of.

She put her tongue into his mouth first thing, to protect her from his words. She knew he would protect her from everything else.

* * *

** Irreconcilable Similarities (Stargate SG1 crossover, S2-ish, I guess) **

_ Crossover _

"So," Xander said, "Willow is the perky one who knows science. Giles is the guy with glasses who understands old dead languages. Angel, he's the big guy who's infected with bad guy juice but fights with us anyway, and Buffy, well, she's our leader. Our blonde, wisecracking, butt-kicking leader, and we protect this big hole that's the link between us and another world where the big nasties are." He took a sip from his Capri Sun. "So, tell me about you guys."

Jack O'Neill passed his gaze from Sam, to Daniel and then to Teal'c. "I'm not even starting, guys."

* * *

** All The Children Are Insane (Spike, pre-series) **

_ Doors _

Spike woke before dawn and looked across the room.

The music was an attraction. A minor one, true. It was more the chaos that drew him. That, and his cheekbones. He would never harm those. The little girls who flocked to the sound? Those were fair game. Most were so messed up by drugs that they didn't see what was coming. The others were so messed up by life, they didn't care. In fact, they seemed to welcome the end. And the beginnings.

He pulled his boots on, shook off his other face and he walked on down the hall.

* * *

** Hand Me My Leather (S/B, PG, mid-"Wrecked", for the Tori Amos challenge) **

_ Tori Amos lyrics _

She hitched up her skirt and made her way up the ruined staircase, sun shining in her blonde hair. He couldn't follow, at least without the bursting into flame.

California gets cold enough sometimes that a body might want to huddle up with another, just for the heat of it, but she'd turn to ice before she let that happen. He knew that from last year. And, as it happens, he had none to give.

Why is it that she spent the night amid the shattered floorboards, clothes spread across the cement floor? To be sure, it's not the weather.

* * *

** Reversals of Fortune (S5) **

_ Sex _

"The rod device, it's called a ferula-gendia." Giles closes the book and places it on the desk. "It chooses a physical trait and reverses it. As near as I can tell, Toth was attempting to turn Buffy into..." He took off his glasses and started going at them with his hankerchief.

Willow raised her hand. "So she wouldn't be the Slayer anymore!"

"Umm.. Yes. Exactly."

"Am I the only one fascinated by this? The insights into thought processes alone would be groundbreaking."

Xander pulled the pillow to her chest. "Two words: No."

Buffy grumped. "And they're bigger than mine."

* * *

** Morale Problems (Forrest POV, S4 around "Who Are You?") **

_ Minor Characters _

She comes waltzing out of there, shaking out her bad perm, and our boy's still on the walking wounded list. She acts like she owns the place. Did she go through Parris Island? Force Recon selection and indoc? Did she ever earn it?

Riley and Graham and him, they chose this. They had to pass test after test after test. They _fought_ to be here. Princess just came in, said "I'm special" and the red carpet gets rolled out for her, from the containment room to the top dog's bed.

Bitch's gonna end up tearing his heart out.

* * *

** Through The Necrotempered Glass, Darkly (Lance Corporal Liebowitz of the Initiative, Angel S5) **

_ Minor Characters _

There's something going on.

He's taking out lots of bad guys, like necromancers and demon puppets. But is that cleaning out evil, or just setting up a power grab? Intel isn't sure, but a look through the scope tells you he's with Hostile 17, so somethings going on.

Looking out at the sunset, he has the same look he had that night in Sunnydale, when he tore through the squad like butter.

The Barrett .50 caliber rifle has an effective range of over a mile, which means he'd never know where it came from.

* * *

** Making Book (Angel, early S5) **

_ Books _

"So, you got odds for the World Series?"

"No. Word from Sports Law is that it's wrapped up."

"Yankees?"

"Of course, but they say they're letting up on the Goat Curse. Cubs're getting into post-season, though."

"But still blowing it?"

"Yeah."

"Damn, that's cold. How about the dead pool?"

"I'm game, but the name you got has to surprise me. Not Di Laurentis. Not that kid from _Neverending Story_. Somebody totally unexpected."

"Winifred Burkle."

"Woah! Isn't that your new boss? You planning something, Knox?"

"Does it matter?"

"'I'll play along with this charade', if you get me."

* * *

** That One Spot (Xander/Anya, early S6) **

_ Hands _

There's a rough spot on his thumb, a callus on the inside. He gets it from waving his hammers and wrenches and such around all day. He has them on his palm and fingers, too. They're ugly and unpleasant and sometimes scratch when he rubs her back or holds her hands.

And now, there's a freezing demon that eats diamonds, except there's no such demon. They've been through the books and have any of these prophets ever heard of an _index_? And she feels the callus through her light cotton capri pants, under the desk.

Anya _really_ loves those hands.

* * *

** I Know All There Is To Know ... (Post-"NFA") **

_ Endings _

"I can't believe it."

"Believe it."

Xander sat with his head in his hands. "I don't feel so good."

Willow's hand patted his back. "I know. It's tough."

"You're thinking one thing and it turns out so .... I feel sick."

"I'm with you."

"He sure hid it well."

"I don't think any of us suspected. We all thought he was the other way."

"And he looked so hot."

"Yes, he ... no. Wait. Are we talking about the same thing? About Angel? The fight?"

Xander scrunched his nose. "No. I watched _The Crying Game_ last night. I'm still freaked."

* * *

** The Singer Must Die ("NFA") **

_ Endings _

This was never his game. He left home and Mother and Pylea to get away from fighting. He got caught up in this completely because of what the music did to him, the gift it gave him, that he sometimes passed along, when he judged it necessary.

_The judge has no choice._ Lenny has it right, here. All for the lie in his voice. Sentence was made before. For the lie in Lindsey's voice....

Lorne let the gun sing. Its song smudged the air with it's voice. He placed it under his famous blue raincoat and made his final exit.

* * *

** It Would've Been Clemenza (Post-"NFA") **

_ Endings _

The first thing showed up in the papers, even in Africa. A sitting senator, killed with an axe in her own campaign office. Some questions through Giles' office brought up some context. Missing people, unclaimed bodies. Demon bodies.

A phone that kept on ringing.

The intercontinental conference call brought them all together, in voice if not in thought.

"But he had a soul."

"I know. I put it there."

"Perhaps there's some aspect to this we don't understand yet."

Xander kept his peace. His take wasn't what they wanted. _Godfather_ answers all life's questions. That day, Angel settled his business.


End file.
